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Husband arrested in 2014 murder of Navy wife from Hampton

Posted at 8:13 AM, Feb 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-07 22:53:12-05

SAN DIEGO, Calif. –A 32-year-old  former Navy Sailor suspected of murdering his wife was arrested on January 31, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Elizabeth Ricks Sullivan

Matthew Sullivan was taken into custody at his home in connection with the death of the mother of their two daughters, according to police.

Elizabeth Sullivan, 31, is reportedly a graduate of Kecoughtan High School.

She graduated from high school in 2001.

She went missing in the San Diego area on October 13, 2014.

Her body was found in the San Diego Bay near the Courtyard Marriott on October 4, 2016, and she was identified through dental records, authorities said.

An autopsy determined that her death was a homicide. Police did not say how she died or what led investigators to identify her husband as a suspect.

Matthew Sullivan left the Navy and moved to the East Coast shortly after his wife’s remains were discovered. He was booked into a Delaware jail and will be taken San Diego for prosecution.

Matthew admitted to PEOPLE magazinethat the couple was having marital problems and he didn’t know where to look for his missing wife.

“I’m at the end of my rope,” he told PEOPLE in 2014. “I’m running on fumes right now, I don’t know where to look. I’m always looking around the neighborhood, trying to catch a glimpse of her. Even if I got a phone call saying she’s okay, it would put my mind at rest. But nothing at this point.”

A family statement posted in October 2015 to a Facebook page dedicated to finding the “beloved mother, daughter, sister, cousin and friend” said the investigation had “gone completely cold.”

Natasha Graham said she knew Elizabeth who friends called Liz for over 20 years.  She said she was a loving mother, a daddy's girls and a great friend. She said she was funny and caring.

Graham said loved ones feel relief that someone has been arrested for her murder.  She said she is praying for her daughters and plans to share memories of how wonderful their mother was in the future.